Study reveals that 38% of hotels will feature keyless entry by enabling travelers to use their smartphones as room keys next year; OpenWays Mobile Key, deploying to 10,000+ guestrooms since 2009, works today with 100% of mobile phones and is a cost-effective upgrade to existing hotel door locks

The third annual Customer Engagement Technology Study 2014 reports that an effective use of mobile technologies is contributing positively to the guest experience and overall satisfaction, and introducing self service across every phase of the guest lifecycle is helping to enhance loyalty and customer satisfaction in a high tech world. Travelers expect to have access to what they want, when they want it, and from anywhere – and that means on any mobile device. In turn, mobile technology will enable hoteliers to anticipate guests' needs and create unique, memorable experiences if hotels can get guests to use their app. The study shows hoteliers are figuring out that useful functionality drives adoption and that includes keyless entry, or using the guests' smartphones as secure room keys.

According to the study, by 2015 38% of hotels will be featuring keyless entry by offering a Mobile Key self service option to guests, and recent announcements would tend to support that. OpenWays, the global leader in mobile key solutions (mobile-based front desk bypass), is now in its 4th generation of mobile key technology, adding the latest Bluetooth mobile technologies to its developed and deployed RFID, NFC and CAC line of solutions. When combined with mobile check-in, guests can bypass traditional registration processes and proceed straight to their rooms upon arrival. Mobile Key by OpenWays has been deployed since 2009, and to date more than 10,000 guestroom units have been sold making OpenWays the most experienced company and most qualified to assist hoteliers in implementing a mobile-based front desk bypass solution.

Today, OpenWays is offering the only Bluetooth-enabled mobile key solution on the market that is quickly and cost-effectively upgrading a variety of EXISTING hotel locks (including not just RFID, but also mag stripe locks) to support a Mobile Key service. Mobile Key by OpenWays' family of hospitality solutions can be deployed quickly and globally by hotels without the expense of replacing their existing door locks; it's a simple, inexpensive upgrade which enables multi-property operates to achieve critical mass quickly and at minimal cost.

OpenWays' solutions, work with all 7 billion mobile devices on the market today and with most major hotel lock manufacturers, and its multi-technology platform includes Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and Crypto Acoustic Credential (CAC™), making OpenWays the most advanced, flexible and comprehensive Mobile Key solution provider in the world.

Proactively Preparing Guests for a Stress-Free stay

A well implemented front-desk bypass solution is more than a hardware widget and an app – it's a process backed by a strategy and the software systems to make it work. That's the OpenWays difference.

"We understand the implications of a Mobile Key program and the process flow, and we have systems and software developed to make everyone's experience better, including the guest, staff, senior management, owners, marketing teams and even the CFO," said Peter Klebanoff, OpenWays' SVP of Business Development. "Mobile Key by OpenWays is well thought-out, highly secure and flexible. It offers the hotel and the guest choice and control over how they engage."

As more and more hotels around the world begin adding keyless entry via a Mobile Key service to their mobile strategies as the 2014 CET Study suggests, OpenWays stands ready to assist with the industry's only open, end-to-end platform that supports all mobile travelers and future-proofs owner's technology investments. OpenWays' solutions are supported by a portfolio of intellectual property including multiple patents and patents pending designed to properly implement Mobile Key.

OpenWays' patented technology is now also available to provide highly-secure keyless entry technology for homes at some of America's finest technology retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, SmartHome and SkyMall under the name OKIDOKEYS.

About OpenWays

OpenWays is a global solutions provider of mobile-based access-management and security solutions. With offices in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seoul and in Europe, OpenWays provides technology solutions allowing for the secure issuance and delivery of access rights and keys processed via any cell phone operating on any network. The OpenWays solution is truly unique as it is built on the concept of credential dematerialization. The OpenWays mobile room key solution works on ALL the 7 billion cell phones in service in the world today. For more information, please contact Barb Worcester at +1 440 930-5770 or email barbw@prproconsulting.com. More information can be found by visiting www.OpenWays.com.